I nodded in agreement. This outing was exciting for me for more reasons than just getting to pick out my prom dress. I’d been cooped up in the house for months. I was allowed to have visitors, but leaving for anything other than school was out of the question. Mom stuck to her guns the entire three months – never wavering even slightly. The last day of school and prom were both coming at the end of next week, so she lifted my punishment finally.
AJ was really patient through the whole thing. He came by almost every day to sit with me. We’d usually just talk, but sometimes we’d watch TV or play cards or something like that. It felt like he was visiting me at the retirement home – only this was much less exciting. Mom watched us closely, whether we were in the living room or in the kitchen. Every so often she’d pass by the door and peer inside, never straying too far away. It was a little ridiculous to keep such a close eye on us. Did she really think that I’d suddenly have the urge to strip down and take him right there on the kitchen table? Who knows? But however uncomfortable it felt, I was grateful that she allowed him to come over at all. She could have forbidden me from seeing him all together and told my father everything that I’d done, so it could have definitely been worse.
Deanna and I pulled up in front of the shop. It was a boutique that I was familiar with called Missy’s – mom brought me here to shop for the Homecoming dance Junior year. Deanna and Karl decided to wear gray and silver, so she walked straight to the rack holding the silver and black dresses. I pulled the red swatch that matched AJ’s vest from my purse. As I sifted through the gowns there wasn’t anything that caught my eye. I laughed to myself as I came across a dress that resembled the style I’d worn for Homecoming – that was one mistake that I wouldn’t make twice.
Deanna came over to where I was searching with a disappointed look on her face. I smiled and attempted to console her. “This is only the first store and I haven’t found anything either.”
“I know, but I hoped I’d at least find something close to what I had in mind so I could try it on, but whatever.” She sighed in irritation. “You ready to try another store?” She asked.
“Yeah, there’s another shop a few blocks away,” I replied.
Four hours and six stores later, we both were still coming up empty handed. My head was beginning to ache as frustration set in. We reluctantly decided to try the mall, which was sure to be a chaotic production starring girls from all of the local schools on the same mission as Deanna and I. We parked in the first available space that was quite possibly a mile from the main entrance. I hadn’t seen it this packed since the Christmas season. We sighed and stepped out of the car. Inside, the hallways were filled with excited teenage girls. Some were carrying long garment bags containing the dresses that they’d purchased. Others were still wandering aimlessly in search of ‘THE DRESS’. The first store we tried was swamped, but we fought through the crowd and found a rack to start on.